Milwaukee's Poles placed a bronze monument of Kosciuszko in Kosciuszko Park in 1905. Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Polish patriot and engineer, fought in the American Revolution and was a leader of the uprising against Russian rule in Poland in 1794.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee acquired the collection through the Assistance of Polanki, the Polish Women's Club of Milwaukee; and Roman Kwasniewski's daughter, Adele, and her husband, John Kaczmarowski. Representative Walter Kunicki and Senator John Plewa secured state funding for the processing of the collection.